City of Black and White
by Chaos' Ace
Summary: The barricaded city called Astaroth is where different people thrive. Four houses keep peace within the city: House of Leaders, House of the Red Dawn, House of Demons and House of Bloodlines. However, there are two who govern the deadly sins and heavenly virtues. They are called the Children of Chaos.
1. Astaroth

**Hi! I'm starting a new story and I really hope you like it. I will be alternating between 'Time Is Running Out' and 'City Of Black And White'. I was going to start this story after I finished 'Time Is Running Out' but I really wanted to start this story. Hope you like it!**

**Credits:  
****Bianca K: For proofreading.**

**Disclaimer:  
****I do not own Naruto.**

**Summary:  
****The barricaded city called Astaroth is where **_**different **_**people thrive. Four houses keep peace within the city: House of Leaders, House of the Red Dawn, House of Demons and House of Bloodlines. However, there are two who govern the deadly sins and heavenly virtues. They are called the Children of Chaos.**

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City of Black and White: Pilot: Astaroth

There is a city perched upon an island called Astaroth. It is well known for the strong barrier walls that surround the island. The only break within the wall was the large dock which was the only means of transport off the island. Astaroth was well-guarded and a security gate which only allowed certain people to pass. The docks were always full due to the many exports and imports passing through. However, all the goods were passed through a metal box and anything that was considered a danger—was blown up within that room. As for the people, a special pass was needed to walk through the gates. Residents of Astaroth were branded with their individual tattoo which acted as their pass. Their powers were symbolized by their tattoo, each ink mark was different. Guests were escorted by guards and were given a temporary mark which would disappear after they left through the gates.

Astaroth was a decent sized city but it was always busy. There were no roads for the city was small enough; there was no need for cars. Houses sometimes separated the markets but were usually cramped together. Four houses stood vividly amongst the markets and houses. Each house was placed within a corner of the circular wall. They towered above the small houses with ease. One house was black and on the front, had a red cloud. They were the House of the Red Dawn, otherwise known as the Akatsuki. They governed the single jail within Astaroth. The prison was well-known all around the world, it was an A-list maximum security prison. The most dangerous convicts were sent there and they were never the same afterwards. It was known for its nine levels which gave the prison the name of Purgatory.

The next house was the House of Bloodlines which housed all the clans within Astaroth. Each clan had their own floor and their special bloodline limit. The Uchiha clan had their Sharingan, the Hyuga family had their all-seeing Byakugan, the Aburame family were well-known for their control over insects and the Inuzuka clan had canines as their companions. The Yamanaka, Akimichi and Nara clan were famous for their long partnership and synchronized fighting style. The Yamanaka and Nara family had manipulative bloodlines; one could control the mental state and the other controlled the shadows. The Akimichi family contrasted by using physical means. They could enlarge any part of their body. The last clan were the Senju clan, they were infamous for their prodigious skills in every field. The final clan was the Uzumaki bloodline who possessed incredible longevity and were both feared and respected for their sealing techniques. The House of Bloodlines protected the secrets of Astaroth.

The third house were the House of Demons. Unlike the House of Bloodlines, they only had ten residents. They were considered one of the most dangerous houses for they were all monsters. They were known as the tailed-demons. These demons inhabited within humans that were known as Jinchurikis. The Uzumaki clan were responsible for sealing each demon into a container. Each container had a tattoo that represented their demon. The House of Demons were in charge of protecting the barrier and exterminating any threats from the outside.

The last house was the smallest house but also powerful in their own right. Only three stood in the House of Leaders. They communicated with outside countries and were the representatives of Astaroth. They were known as the Sannin; Tsunade, the slug princess; Jiraiya, the frog user and Orochimaru, the snake charmer. The Princess was also well-known for her healing skills. Jiraiya was somewhat of a pervert and wrote dirty books. Orochimaru worked in the labs and contributed towards the secrets of Astaroth.

In the middle of Astaroth was a inn called The Black Virtue. It had a bar, a restaurant and rooms upstairs. The man who ran it was Kakashi Hatake who also acted as the bartender. He knew Jiraiya well and enjoyed reading his novels; Icha Icha Paradise. And two permanent residents lived in a single room in The Black Virtue. Both lay in the bed, not wearing anything. The cloth wrapped around the rosette's waist bared the tattoos branded on her back. The raven-haired man was on his back, the tattoos on his collarbone were visible. His arms wrapped around her and both were asleep. The morning rays danced through the window and splashed onto the man's face. He stirred and when he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the rosette.

"Wake up Sakura," smirking when the girl moaned and snuggled further into his chest. She squealed when he flung the sheets off her and the cold air hit her. Her eyes opened and she glared at the young man, emerald orbs peering into onyx hues. His eyes trailed all over her body and she glared at him even harder. He was unaffected so she gave up. Instead, she slipped off the bed and stretched her arms high up in the air. The light shined onto the marks on her body and made them stand out.

"What time is it, Sasuke?" the rosette asked, turning towards him. Sasuke also slipped off the bed and she too, could see all his tattoos. Seven inks marked each body and they were there for a reason. They didn't belong to any houses because there were only two of them. They were known as the Children of Chaos. In Greek mythology, Chaos was the void that started everything. The seven deadly sins and heavenly virtues were governed by these two people. Each tattoo marked either a sin or virtue. Grudgingly for Sakura, Sasuke tended to control more sins than virtues. Sins and virtues control the human life therefore, the Children of Chaos had great influence over the human mind and their actions.

The mark of Lust on his back was a black snake.

The mark of Wrath on his right inner wrist was 'Ira', the latin word for wrath.

The mark of Gluttony on his left inner wrist was the word 'Gluttony'.

The mark of Pride surrounded by the snake was a intricate peacock.

The mark of Envy on his upper top bicep was the word 'Invidia', the latin for Envy.

The mark of Diligence was the latin word 'Industria' placed on his right collarbone.

The mark of Temperance was 'Temperantia' branded on his waist.

"It's almost noon, Sakura." The rosette looked at Sasuke and blushed when he caught her staring at him. After all, they were both naked after a night of passion. Sakura jumped back onto the bed and just lay there. She stared at the wooden ceiling and smiled when Sasuke's face appeared above hers. Sakura leaned upwards to reach the Uchiha's lips. They kissed softly and Sakura lifted a hand to stroke his cheek. He smiled at her before letting himself and her up. Sakura walked over to the closet and picked out a tank top and a pair of leggings. The Uchiha also went to the wardrobe and accepted the trousers the rosette passed her. He also picked up a white dress shirt and slipped it on. Because of the tank top, the tattoos on her torso could be seen.

The mark of Sloth was the latin word 'Acedia' which was on her lower back, right above her right buttock.

The mark of Greed was a thin spiderweb covering her back.

The mark of Chastity was the dove-like wings above the spiderweb.

The mark of Forgiveness was on her left inner wrist, the latin word 'Venia'.

The mark of Humility was 'Humility' on her collarbone.

The mark of Kindness on her right inner thigh was 'Kindness'.

The mark of Charity was a dark blue butterfly with black tips which was placed within the spiderweb.

The duo made their way towards the door and walked down the varnished wooden stairs. "Good morning to you two," greeted Kakashi when they reached the bar. The silver-haired man was lazily leaning against the bar, reading his orange book.

"Morning Kakashi," Sakura said cheerily while Sasuke merely nodded in acknowledgement. They had lived in The Black Virtue ever since the couple met. Kakashi had acted as a father to Sakura and a mentor to Sasuke. Sakura accepted the offered apple and took a big chunk out of it. She then passed the red fruit to Sasuke who bit the apple before giving it back.

"There's a high paying job within the assassination section," Kakashi told Sakura while pointing towards the bulletin board. The job board was were anybody could post jobs and anybody cold take them. There were three sections to the boards; assassinations, bounty for people and bounty for objects. Sasuke walked over to the section he wanted and started looking through the fliers. "The House of Demons is the one you want," said Kakashi. The silver-haired man took a flier off the board and passed it to the Uchiha.

Sasuke took it and scanned the words before smirking. "Naruto's group, huh?" Sakura bounded over and peered over his shoulder.

"A famous Japanese actress has inherited a stolen scroll from Astaroth and we are needed to retrieve it before she can sell it to outside enemies," Sakura read. "Couldn't we just steal it instead of killing he?"

Sasuke stood his head, "Who knows what she will say if we let her live." The rosette sighed, she didn't really like killing. However, Sasuke was different and didn't mind torturing his victims before killing them. Kakashi stared with amusement as he watched the two stare at each other. He knew they worked well with each other due to their relations with the sins and virtues but there was something else. They truly liked each other, their personality and everything. They stared at each other for one more second before Sasuke turned back to Kakashi and said, "We'll take it," and promptly pocketed the job flier.

Sasuke followed the rosette back upstairs to prepare for leaving. She shoved clothes and toiletries into her duffle bag. She did this while also catching clothes Sasuke threw at her and put them in the bag as well. The Uchiha took the bag and made their way down the stairs. Sakura happily waved Kakashi as he said his farewells. The rosette placed her hand in Sasuke's and smiled at him happily. He smirked right back at her as they reached the gates of Astaroth. They felt their tattoos react to the security gate as they walked through. Sakura waved to Kotetsu and Izumo who were on duty at the gates. They were obviously well known in Astaroth for most of the boatmen greeted them. Both were easily accepted on a boat heading to Japan.

Sasuke and Sakura sat in a room, discussing the plan. "I've been told the woman's staying at a hotel for a couple of nights before meeting the opposing party to sell the scroll. We need to make a move then. The hotel with give us coverage since they will have choice but to interrogate everybody." Sakura nodded, agreeing with his plan. "I'll _intoxicate _her while you act as an guard."

Sakura snorted, "Of course you will, Mr. Lust." The owner of the sin of lust smirked at her and kissed her on the lips. Isn't wasn't long before one of the sailors informed them that they have arrived. Astaroth was never far from anywhere. Getting to places was a piece of cake. Sakura accepted his hand and jumped off the boat onto the dock. "So, this is Tokyo," mused Sakura. "Never been here, it looks okay." They started walking towards civilization and were met with many stares. It wasn't often people saw a rosette with so many tattoos. Also, Sasuke Uchiha tended to attract many eyes of the female population. He ignored them and placed his arm around Sakura's shoulder. Some of the women glared at her but backed off when she smirked at them. It was a feline smirk, a smirk before a lioness pounced onto her prey. They stopped in front of a grand hotel. "This the place?" asked Sakura, staring at the large gold letters. Her emerald eyes then moved to the turning doors and couldn't help but smile. When she was younger, she often ventured out of Astaroth. She enjoyed going around the turning doors and annoying other people. She was snapped back to reality when Sasuke answered her question.

"Yep, and according to this sign, a party's being held for the actress." Sakura looked at the sign she was staring at. A party was being advertised for the famous actress. "Invitation only," muttered Sasuke. He then smirked along with Sakura. "It's only a cover so she can sell the scroll afterwards. Shall we go, Miss. Haruno?" The rosette accepted his offered arm and together, they walked into the hotel. Sakura was tempted to go around in the turning doors but restrained herself against it. They walked through the lobbies together, Sasuke's sharp eyes looking for a certain room. "Found it," he whispered into Sakura's ears and she looked at the door with a metal plate stuck on it.

"The manager's office," read Sakura. "Anyone in it?" And at that moment, a man walked out of it. He seemed alarmed at the two right in front of the door but brushed it off as two foreign guests. He smiled warmly at them before walking away. "See that, Sasuke?" she mumbled to him. He nodded slightly. She wasn't the only one to see the word 'manager' pinned to his suit.

"Guard the place," said Sasuke before slipping in for he had caught the door before it had closed. The manager had been too occupied with the appearance of the couple, he hadn't noticed there was no click from the door closing. In an blink of an eye, Sasuke had slipped in. Sakura casually leaned against the wall. Anybody walking by would think she was waiting for someone. She glanced at the clock, watching the seconds ticking by. She tapped her heel against the wall from the boredom. When she saw a man in uniform approaching, she discreetly kicked the door. She smiled at the man when he entered the room. She stared nonchalantly at the wall as the man walked out a few seconds later. A few minutes after that, Sasuke was back with her. "Thanks," he said before hitting her with two sheets of paper. He gave them to her when she held her hand out for them. She nodded approvingly before giving them back.

"How did you know what they looked like?" the rosette asked. She was talking about the invites. In the boat journey, they had decided to sneak into the party so Sasuke could charm the actress.

"The manager had it on his computer so the security guards could see what it looked like," explained the Uchiha. Both said no more until they walked into one of the restaurants which was more of a buffet. Sasuke sat down while the rosette went to grab her food. She came back soon with a glass of orange use in her other hand. Sasuke smirked at her choice before going to get his. When he returned, he had a mug of coffee. They ate silently and slowly, wasting time. Just as they were on dessert, Sakura heard a commotion outside the hotel. "Looks like the actress has arrived," Sasuke muttered to her. Sakura turned around in her seat just to catch a glimpse of the famous arrival. It was hard to see her for she was surrounded by fans and bodyguards. Sakura could see she was certainly beautiful. Hair piled on top of her head in an elegant bun and her clothes definitely came from expensive brands.

Sakura nodded in agreement, "Definitely her," she said before returning to her meal. Sasuke had finished his despite getting his after her. She grumbled when he commented about how much of a slow eater she was.

They were know walking in the streets, shopping for clothes. They hadn't known there would be a party so Sakura didn't pack any fancy clothes. No shops could be found so they entered a proper mall and looked at the shops. In was nearing night when Sakura's trained eyes found one. When they entered, both knew they were in the correct shop. They separated to look for their own costumes. Sakura was flicking through dresses and stopped when she saw a particular black dress. It was strapless and had a long slit going down one side. Smiling, you grabbed it off the hook and rushed to the changing rooms. Through the corner of his eyes, the Uchiha watched the rosette rush off. It wasn't as difficult for him, all he needed was a dress shirt, trousers, shoes, tie and a jacket. He entered the stall next to Sakura when he found all the materials he needed. He changed in record time but this time, Sakura had finished first. She was waiting for him outside his curtain. She beamed when he exited the room. And damn, did he look hot. Sasuke wore a white shirt which was partly covered by a black jacket. He also wore a tie and black trousers. On his feet, he donned a pair of shiny black shoes. Sasuke looked at her and smirked approvingly.

The rosette's dress clung to her body well and then he frowned. She cocked her head to the side, "What's wrong?" Her question was answered when the male threw a mini white fur jacket at her. "Forgot about the tattoos," she said cheekily. It was meant to stay open and didn't reach any lower than he breasts. "Yes?" asked Sakura and smiled again when Sasuke nodded. They decided to keep them on since they were almost out of time. Sakura rolled her eyes when she saw the shop attendant flutter over the Uchiha. It was getting dark when they left the mall.

Sakura could see guests arriving from the amount of cars arriving at the same time. The rosette watched as many beautiful women exited limousines, accompanied by their dates or husbands. Her black wedge shoes clicked against the pavement. Getting into the hotel was no problem but it was the hall where the party was being held. Blending into the line, Sasuke extracted the forged invites from his jacket pocket. He smirked when they were let in with no trouble at all. Sakura stared with awe and she entered the room. Grand, crystal chandeliers lit up the room brilliantly. Small round tables were piled with snacks. Sasuke took two champagnes from the waiter and proceeded to give one to the rosette. They rested against the wall, hoping to stay out of sight. Luckily, no one came up to them to greet them. It was all merry until someone entered through the doors. Sakura's green eyes narrowed, it was the actress. But in their case, it was their victim. She looked up at Sasuke, recognizing the cue in his eyes. She promptly walked away from him, joining the crowd that surrounded the actress. It was obvious her guests didn't know about her possession of the stolen scroll. Sakura didn't listen to her speech on the platform as she introduced herself. She didn't even catch her name. She almost jumped when people started clapping and hesitantly joined them. She watched as the beautiful woman walked off the platform, accepting a single champagne on the way. Emerald eyes could easily see she didn't have any bodyguards directly with her. They were at the doors, watching everything. She smirked when Sasuke approached her and recognized the look in the woman's eye. She was entranced. The rosette shook her head in disgust; the Uchiha wasn't even using any of his power. After all, Sasuke did have natural good looks that any woman would kill for. She watched the man make his move as he accepted her offer to go to her house afterwards. Sakura sighed in boredom; it was going to be a long night.

It was well past midnight when the party ended. Fortunately for Sakura, the actress was one of the first to leave under the pretense of being tired. Only Sakura could see she actually wanted to be with her new boy-toy. She snickered as she received Sasuke's hidden smirk as he passed her. He gave her a wink that sent flutters to her stomach. She casually walked out of the room and walked towards the bathroom. When she was in there, she took the stall nearest to the window. When she saw no one in the bathroom and didn't hear anything, she didn't bother to lock the stall. She hoisted herself onto the window ledge and proceeded to open the window. She was about to slip her feet over the ledge when something caught her eye, a security camera. Sakura sighed in annoyance and without any hesitance, she slipped a knife from her thigh. She possessed a pair of diamond blade knives with titanium handles. She threw one of them with absolute accuracy and released a laugh when it hit its target. She watched as the mechanical contraption broke as the knife drove through it. Her diamond blade fell to the ground with a light thud. Sakura jumped out of the window with ease despite it being quite high up. She quickly picked up the knife and avoided any other cameras. She watched as Sasuke stepped into the back seat of a limousine with the actress. But no before he caught her eye and licked his lips. She rolled his eyes at his actions and watched as the limousine sped off. She stayed on the other side of the road, being careful not to be spotted by any of the hotel staff. She tailed the car easily due to the rush hour at night.

Sakura wasn't surprised when the limousine stopped at an expensive looking house. Sakura watched as the actress was helped out of the car by the Uchiha. The rosette gritted her teeth when she saw how close the actress was to Sasuke. She knew it meant nothing but it still angered her. How she wished it was her who was going to kill the actress. But that's precisely why Sasuke was going to kill, because she would make too much of a scene. She smirked when the limousine sped away and gave her a clear view of the couple walking past the gates. It wasn't that long a path from the iron gates to the large house. The gates were supported by big marble pillars. After the couple had entered the house, Sakura placed herself against the pillar, waiting. It wasn't until a few minutes later until she felt a certain mark on her activate. She couldn't see for the tattoo was on her back but she could see from her peripheral vision that the dove wings were glowing. She smirked, if her mark of Chastity was glowing and she didn't purposely activate it meant that its darker counterpart was being used. Sasuke sure knew how to seduce a woman but he had extra help from the sin of Lust. The snake tattoo on his back must be glowing slightly as well. When one sin or virtue was being used, its opposite would also light up. Even though she couldn't properly see it, she felt it. It didn't burn badly but felt more like a hot water bottle placed on that certain spot.

The rosette was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a wolf-whistle. She looked up to see a gang of young men nearing her. She rolled her eyes, not even bothering to place her hand near her knives. Instead, her arms remained crossed against chest. "What are you doing here, Honey? This is the rich part of town, you waiting for someone?" asked one of men. When she didn't answer, he laid a hand on her shoulder. Within a blink of an eye, he was on the ground clutching his bloody nose. His companions watched in horror as the man took his hand away from the face. All they could visualize was his distorted noise. However, that wasn't enough. "You bitch!" screamed the man. "Get her!" Feeling safe because of the outnumbering, the men approached her. Before another could touch her, a knife was embedded in one man's throat. She pulled it out harshly and the other men watched in horror as the man gargled and spat out blood before falling. Then turned to run but the rosette was faster. Sliding in between the two remaining men, she slit their throats with ease.

"Can't have you telling on me, can we?" Sakura said nonchalantly. She picked up a hanky from one of the man's shirt pocket and proceeded to clean her knives with it. She placed herself against the marble pillar and continued with cleaning the blades. When she was done, she returned them to their sheathes on her thighs. She sighed and stared at the full moon in the sky. It was a dark night and she was thankful for the light the moon gave. Otherwise, she almost wouldn't have stopped what happened next. Raising her right arm, she caught something in her hand without looking out. Feeling its texture, she instantly knew what it was and grinned. Lifting her head, she spied Sasuke sitting on top of the pillar. "Took you long enough," complained the rosette. The Uchiha swiftly jumped down next to her and observed the bodies on the ground.

Sakura sighed as the Uchiha started to lecture her. "Sakura, we came here to kill only one person, not slaughter an entire population." But as he said that, his face was graced with a feral smirk. He didn't mind her killing but it would cause problems if they ever found out it was someone from Astaroth. Playing with the scroll in her hand, Sakura pouted.

"It's not my fault Sasuke! They tried to manhandle me! It was an act of self-defense," she protested. The Uchiha sighed before patting her on her hair. She smiled brightly, enjoying his touch. "Anyway, what took you so long?" she asked again.

Sasuke sighed, "The woman struggled more than I thought she was."

Sakura laughed in glee, "Didn't Sasuke Uchiha seduce her enough? Perhaps you're getting rusty." She squealed when the man slammed her into the pillar.

"I'll show you who's getting rusty," he whispered into her ear before biting it gently. She sighed in content as he moved to her neck. She giggled as she felt the tattoo of the wings warm up again though she didn't activate anything. That could only mean one thing. Sasuke's lust was strong right now. She slipped her hands under his jacket and could feel the snake tattoo burn under his shirt. Reluctantly, she pushed the Uchiha away. He growled in annoyance, "What the hell, Sakura?"

She grinned at him before skipping away, "We have to get this scroll back, Sasuke-baby." Said baby rolled his eyes at her nickname for him before following her. He smirked as she grabbed his hand and started twirling under it. He watched her skip and prance and couldn't help but smile. Not smirk, but a genuine smile. When she realized his out of character expression, she grinned.

He saw it and grumbled, "Stop looking like Naruto. You'll turn into an idiot." But that only made her smile widen even more. They walked hand in hand towards the docks again. Nobody stared at them for the dark hid Sakura's hair well despite the street lights. It wasn't long before they were at the docks and Sakura grinned when she saw the boat who brought them to Japan.

"Need a lift, Miss. Haruno?" asked the captain. Sakura nodded happily and jumped onto the bow of the boat. Sasuke followed afterwards, followed by the captain. The couple entered the room they occupied when going to Tokyo. Instead of sitting on the wooden seats, Sakura plopped herself on Sasuke's lap when he sat on the couch.

"What's got you so happy?" asked Sasuke after he maneuvered them so both were lying on the sofa—the rosette wrapped in his strong arms. She snuggled against him, her face in his torso again.

"Mission success!" explained Sakura. "And I had a lot of champagne," she confessed after Sasuke gave her a look. He rolled her eyes after that. It wasn't long before Sakura's eyes stayed closed and her breathing evened out. Sasuke however was the last to fall asleep. He fondly stroked her pink hair before letting his eyes close. And when they did, he had a satisfied expression on his face.

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**So, this is the end of the pilot. Hope you liked it and want more because I hope this story turns out well. Please tell me what you think about the plot and the fictional city. I named the city after the crowned prince of Hell; Astaroth. :D You see... I did my research! Hope to update soon! REVIEW PEOPLE! :D**


	2. Wisdom and Purity

**Hi!**

**I know I'm suppose to be alternating between 'Time Is Running Out' and 'City Of Black And White' but I love this story so much! Anyway, I've just realized the book 'City Of Bones' is very similar to this fanfic but to be completely truthful, I didn't know about the 'Mortal Instruments' series until after I came up with the fanfic idea. So please don't think I copied the book plot.**

**I promise I'll update 'Time Is Running Out' after this chapter! It's been a week since school started and my brain is not working. **

**Credits:  
****Bianca K: For proofreading.**

**Disclaimer:  
****I do not own Naruto.**

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City of Black and White: Chapter 1: Wisdom and Purity

Two figures stood outside a giant building, staring at the front wall. Surrounding it was a barrier very much like the wall around Astaroth. The only hole in the wall was the entrance to the House of Demons. It was only a gap, but it was impossible to get through—using force would send out an electric wave that would immobilize even the strongest of beings. However, that only happened if a person actually attacked the unseen wall. If someone just place there hand on it, it would seem like an invisible barrier stopping them. The only way to pass was a verified tattoo and only the residents of each house could give the verification.

There was no trouble for the two as they stood in the gap, waiting for their tattoos to be accepted. Knowing that—as they watched their tattoos glow—there would be no problem getting through the gate. When inside, the rosette admired the garden. Bushes of roses decorated the building, lush green grass carpeted the floor and apple trees shaded the area. They walked up the cobbled path and stopped when they reached the main double doors. The Uchiha rolled his eyes when the doors dramatically opened by themselves. Sakura giggled and latched onto his arm, "Always making a scene, isn't he?" Sasuke snorted in agreement as they continued to walk into the hall. The interior of the house was old fashioned and many statues littered the hall. On each side of the hall were demons with different numbers of tails. Each statue had a golden plaque underneath it with its name inscribed on it. Sakura smiled fondly at the statue of the nine-tails.

At the end of the hall was another pair of doors. With Sakura holding onto his right arm, Sasuke pushed the doors open with the other one. It opened easily and without a single creak. Inside the room was a large round table with nine chairs surrounding it. All nine occupants looked at the two uninvited guests. A certain blond-haired demon container stood up when he recognized the two walking into the room. "Sakura! Bastard!"

"How are you, Naruto?" asked Sakura with a grin on her face. She willingly opened her arms for Naruto as he bounded forward to hug her. The Uchiha rolled his eyes as the two exchanged greetings. He restrained the urge to bash the blond on the head when he kept the rosette in his embrace.

"We came for the reward on that assassination job," stated Sasuke when Sakura was back in his arms. Naruto snickered and laughed at his friend's blunt words. Reaching into his jacket's pocket, he pulled out a cheque and passed it to the Uchiha. The rosette peered around Naruto and cheerily waved to the remaining occupants on the table. Gaara Sabaku—the container of the one-tailed demon—nodded his head in acknowledgement and gave a small smile. The others did the same, some friendlier than others. Green eyes surveyed the demons, each of them head their own special mark. Gaara had the Japanese character for 'love' on his forehead and Sakura knew Naruto's tattoo was on his abdomen. Naruto laughed when Sakura moaned about leaving. "Come on, Sakura. You can eat ramen with the Idiot next time," convinced Sasuke.

"Ichiraku Ramen," promised Naruto as Sakura waved goodbye before disappearing behind the doors. Naruto then returned to his seat next to Gaara, "Awesome, aren't they?" The other Jinchurikis rolled their eyes at the blonde's words.

"Shall we continue our meeting then?" asked Yugito Nii.

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"Your brother passed by," added Kakashi as Sakura shoved spaghetti into her mouth. Sasuke sat next to her on a bar stool, calmly drinking a shot of vodka. He also ignored the rosette when she scolded him for drinking such alcohol at lunchtime. Only those who knew him well saw his grip tighten on the small glass when his brother was mentioned. However, Kakashi and Sakura knew the youngest Uchiha like family.

"Did Itachi mention what he wanted?" asked the rosette, covering his hand with hers. She pouted when Kakashi shook his head. "Do you want to go over later?" asked Sakura, turning to her partner. She watched his onyx eyes narrow and inwardly sighed. When he stiffly nodded, Sakura leaned in and gently placed a kiss on his cheek. He turned to look at her and she grinned when his trademark smirk appeared. Kakashi went to tend to other customers as Sakura proceeded to stuff her mouth with more pasta. Sasuke continued drinking his shots, staring blankly at the job board. When the two were done, they made their way up to their permanent room.

This was the first time they had entered their room since the assassination job on the Japanese actress. And Sakura was dying for a shower and without further ado, she threw her top off. Sasuke smirked as she continued to strip without feeling self-conscious. This is why the Uchiha loved the rosette so much; she was confident, kind and everything he wasn't—literally. Sasuke followed her into the bathroom, also taking his clothes off. Sakura sighed contentedly as the hot water hit her and squealed when she felt two strong arms wrap around her. Hot water pouted from the shower onto them and the rosette moaned in satisfaction. Sasuke growled in annoyance when the rosette slyly rejected his advances.

Sasuke leaned against the wall, taping his foot impatiently. He glared at the girl sitting on the bed in front of him. She was busy strapping her twin blades to her thighs which were covered by black leggings. They were hidden under her skirt which was red in color and denim in material. Her torso was covered by an ebony tank top and she wore crimson arm warmers. Her feet were covered by onyx high-heeled boots. The heels of the shoes were thick and easy to walk on. They were done up by black laces which went up past her knees. The knives were held up by metal bands which was also made out of titanium.

"Done!" Sakura looked at Sasuke with a huge grin on her face. He himself was wearing tight black jeans and a white dress shirt. A plain red tie decorated his neck and he donned a pair of black converse shoes for his feet. Sakura could almost see the Uchiha's black tattoos due to his pale shirt. All of the rosette's tattoos that weren't covered by her tank top could be seen properly and she took pride in that. She hopped off the bed and bounded over to the raven-haired man. He rolled his eyes at her enthusiasm but smirked as he threw an arm around her. She accepted it and wrapped both arms around his waist. They made their way downstairs and Sakura waved Kakashi goodbye before closing the door to the inn. The couple walked through the streets and greeted various people who knew them—which was practically everybody. It was only a fifteen minutes walk to the House of the Red Dawn. They stopped in front of the barrier, Sakura's hand within Sasuke's. They felt their tattoos burn slightly in reaction to the barrier scanning them. They were quickly accepted and Sakura felt Sasuke's hand tighten around hers. She winced slightly at the pressure being applied and he somewhat smiled apologetically. She returned his smile, knowing that his emotions were in a turmoil right now.

They walked through the halls, knowing the way well. Had they not known the house so well, it was likely that they would have gotten lost. It was like the House of Demons, the couple stopped at big double doors. The rosette could see the emotions in Sasuke's eyes and leaned forwards to kiss him on the tip of his nose. He looked at her and smiled a genuine smile; which in Sasuke's case, was rare. Sakura placed a hand on the doors and pushed them open. There was no bright light that blinded them but neither of the Children of Chaos could look straight ahead.

A crimson table was placed in the center of the room. Just like in the House of Demons, figures sat around the table. This time, there were ten instead of nine. One leader and nine subordinates. The House of the Red Dawn held the jail of Astaroth underneath it. They were infamous throughout the world for their nine levels. It got worse as you went lower into the ground; the first was for petty crimes like thefts and vandalism; the second level was for those who abused drugs; the third was for minor assaults such as stalking; the fourth was for actual physical assault; the fifth was for bigger crimes like kidnapping. The sixth to the ninth level were for major crimes. The sixth level was for rapists; the seventh for quick murders like shooting. The eight for the culprits who gave their victims a slow death such as strangulation. And finally the ninth for the worst of the worst. They ranged from sadists who enjoyed torturing their prey to the point of insanity to corrupt politicians who promoted world peace while secretly bombing neighboring countries.

'Purgatory' was this jail's name. Named after the nine circles in Hell. The most dangerous of criminals were sent to Astaroth just so outside countries could sleep in peace. Nobody escaped from Purgatory—no one. Some prisoners were disturbed so much, they had to be put down. The ninth level ones were the worse, even those who were short for money regretted applying to be a guard. But not even Purgatory could compare to its ten owners. Each member was known for their incredible powers. Not even the Children of Chaos would be able to take them on if the Akatsuki truly wanted to eliminate them. Fortunately, all the houses were on good terms and got along. That was why Astaroth was impenetrable, not only because of its excellent security system but also because of the bond of its people. They were strong and it was impossible to knock them down. Now, one-fifth of this power sat around the red table, all looking at the other fifth who only contained two persons.

"Good to see you again Little Brother, Sakura." The first one to speak was a raven-haired man who kept his long locks in a loose ponytail. He had red eyes that drew its power from the tattoo on his waist, below his right rib. He was a spitting image of Sasuke, the only difference being the tear trough marks on the elder Uchiha brother. He wore a red ring on his right ring finger. The Japanese characters on it translated to the word 'vermillion'.

Itachi Uchiha, the eldest son of Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha. The prodigy of the Uchiha clan. Well-known for his advanced control on the clan's bloodline limit, the Sharingan. Those eyes granted the user to see and copy any movement. Another one of its many abilities was limited precognition. When the Sharingan was fully mature, the user could cast illusions with the eyes alone, create a ghostly being known as Susanoo, produce black flames that would not die until its target had been exterminated; this ability was called Amaterasu. When the user was powerful enough, they could also bend the line of reality and fantasy. There were three abilities that towered above the others; Izanagi, Izanami and Tsukuyomi.

Izanagi removed the boundaries of reality and illusion on the user which gave them the privilege of controlling their own existence. If injured, the wound would just fade away even though the user remained there physically. Izanagi's partner was Izanami, the other third of the Uchiha's top abilities. While Izanagi was casted on the user, Izanami worked on the target. It created an endless loop that the target could not break from even if they were conscious of it being an illusion. The final talent the Sharingan had was Tsukuyomi, the representative of the spiritual world and darkness. It trapped the victim in a whole new world that moved accordingly to the caster. What felt like days of torture was actually two or three seconds in reality. Citizens of Astaroth and outsiders said the ninth level of Purgatory was based on this excruciating world.

"Itachi," Sasuke replied, then nodding his head in acknowledgement to the others. The atmosphere in the room was thick but not uncomfortable. Sakura wearily kept her eyes on Sasuke in case he was provoked to do something bad. Luckily for her, he actually looked quite calm and at ease. The rosette then surveyed the other occupants. Itachi was sitting next to Pein, the leader of the Akatsuki, the founder of Purgatory, the creator of the House of the Red Dawn. He had many piercings and orange hair. His unique ability; the Rinnegan was powered by his tattoo on his neck. His mark was a purple circle with the ripple effect inside it. His ring was purplish-grey and it had the characters that meant 'zero' written on it. He wore it on his right thumb.

Next to him was the only female in the organization, Konan. She was Pein's right-hand man and second in charge. She had dark blue hair, gold eyes and a piercing beneath her bottom lip. A blue origami flower decorated her hair which was partly held up in a bun. Her beautiful eyes were complimented by lavender eye-shadow which was layered on lightly. It was only fitting her mark was a blue rose on her upper-back. Her right middle finger was surrounded by a ring with the characters that enforced its color; white.

Next to the origami master was Zetsu, the medic and spy of the Akatsuki. His unusual talent granted him the ability to merge into objects and multiply. He was also the strangest looking; half white and half black. He also had a giant venus flytrap sprouting from him that enveloped his upper body and head. Unlike his white side which had human-like facial features and a proper eye, his black half showed no visible orifices and only his iris was visible. On his torso was a giant green venus flytrap tattoo. A green ring enveloped his right little finger with the characters meaning 'sign of the boar' on it.

The member placed by Zetsu was a silver-haired man with pink eyes. His name was Hidan and he was a disciple of Jashin who was the God of evil designs. His followers worshipped him by sacrificing others. Their ritual was special and only those who followed Jashin were granted immortality. When a Jashinist consumes the blood of its victim, it creates a bond between the two. Whatever happens to the caster happens to the victim. Unfortunately for those who Hidan considered prey, the foul-mouthed man happened to thrive in sadism and machoism. His tattoo stood proudly on the back of his neck, a black image of the Jashin symbol. A circle with an upside down triangle placed in it. Hidan also wore a necklace with the Jashin symbol held together by silver beads. The only weakness Hidan had was his recklessness and usually found himself missing a limb by the end of the day. And only if his victims knew that for his curse to work, he had to be inside the Jashin symbol drawn by blood. But his prey were always too busy fearing his Grim Reaper appearance after consuming their blood. 'Three' was the word on his orange ring worn on his left index finger.

The Jashinist's partner was a money-craving man called Kakuzu. He was mostly covered by his garments and only his eyes could be seen. He had green irides, no pupils and red scleras. He with Hidan was known as the Zombie Combo for their incapability to die. Kakuzu had multiple hearts, hearts he had taken as souvenirs from his battles. Only those closest knew what he was like underneath all his clothes. He had stitches covering his body and he could control those threads with ease. Kakuzu was an impatient man and often got mad at his partner for being so slow whether it was when Hidan was performing a ritual or just walking down the street. The stitch-man wore a dark green ring with the characters 'north' embedded in it on his left middle finger. A dark green ink marked the back of his lower left leg. It was a dollar bill with the words 'you can never have enough' written in cursive surrounding it.

Two artists sat next to the Zombie Combo. The closest to Kakuzu was Sasori of the Red Sand, also known as Sasori Akasuna. He believed that fine art was everlasting and remained far in the future. He created ingenious puppets with weapons hidden all over their bodies. Impatience was an attribute he shared with Kakuzu and the redhead often quarreled with his partner over art. His tattoo was red Japanese characters for 'scorpion' inscribed on his torso where his heart was located. One of his most feared creations were human puppets, dolls made from the unfortunate victims that fell prey to the puppet master. Human puppets were more advanced than regular ones for Sasori could use the abilities the humans had when they were alive. But unknown to many, human puppets weren't the thing they had to worry about. Not many knew Sasori himself was a puppet; he was immortal and wanted to stay that way. While life carried on, he would remain there for eternity. A purple ring adorned his left thumb; it had the characters 'jewel' on it.

His blond partner sat next to him, fiddling with a miniature clay bird. He had long blond hair that he held up in a half ponytail. A bang covered his left eye which concealed his scope. He had bright blue eyes that were similar to Naruto's and a sly grin etched onto his face. He may have been one of the most normal looking of the Akatsuki but his true form was hidden by his hands. The blonde had a mouth in each of the palms of his hands which were used for moulding clay bombs. He always had two pouches of clay with him, usually strapped to his waist. Like Sasori, his tattoo was where his heart was located. His mark was a black mouth with lines around, in the center was a couple of stitches keeping the mouth shut. It was rumoured that undoing those stitches would let off a devastating blast that could destroy a whole country. For those who knew the artist well knew they were no rumours. His partner may have been an artist as well but they had very different values. Deidara believed that fine art was a 'bang'. In other words, he believed that art was quick and loud. The characters 'blue' decorated his teal ring that he wore on his right index finger. The bomber also had a speech impairment which lead him to saying 'yeah' after most sentences. Despite the blond preferring fireworks while his partner cared more for statues, they respected each other and synchronized which each other very well.

A man wearing an orange lollipop mask sat by Deidara. The only gap in the mask was a hole where his right eye was. Like Zetsu, Tobi did not have a partner but due to his unique abilities, he did not need one. The childish man could teleport at will and could control his existence like the Sharingan's Izanagi. But he held a darker secret underneath his playful mask. In reality, he was Madara Uchiha, one of the eldest Uchihas out there. Because he could control his existence, he did not age and could not die. Madara had the tattoo of the Uchiha clan on his right inner-wrist. Those who were marked with Astaroth had limited immortality, they did not age but could be injured. They could die from major wounds but it was rare that anybody could injure someone with a mark. Everyone in Astaroth was born with a mark and only when their tattoo fully matured did the bearer stop aging. Some had stronger powers than others, those people created the Houses. For instance, Kakashi Hatake was a powerful man in his own right but refused to join any of the Houses, saying he didn't have the time for such things.

Kakashi Hatake had somewhat retired from using his mark and powers. But back in his prime, he was a well-known resident of Astaroth. Not only was he the White Fang's son but also was the mentor of the former team consisting of Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto. He had trained them in their youth and taught them all about their marks. The three respected him greatly and despite him not being their teacher anymore, they still considered and acted as he were still their mentor.

Kisame Hoshigaki completed the circle around the table. He was a large blue man who wielded the legendary sword; Samehada. Samehada was a bandaged sword which incredible powers; it did not cut, it shaved. It could drain the power out of someone leaving them vulnerable. It was easy to recognize him due to his shark-like appearance. He had small, round white eyes and triangular sharp teeth. His mark were three gill tattoos under each eye. On his left ring finger, he wore a yellow ring with the Japanese characters meaning 'south'.

Sakura looked at Sasuke, inwardly sighing with relief when he still had his calm persona on. His face showed no emotion of anger against his elder brother. The couple still had their hands entwined and from Sakura's position behind Sasuke, she could see the extra tattoo he had that was not part of the deadly sins or heavenly virtues. Because he was an Uchiha, Sasuke had the Uchiha symbol on the back of his neck. The Uchiha insignia was Sasuke's last tattoo to mature at the age of seventeen. He had full control over the high-ranking abilities of the Sharingan, over Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Izanagi and Izanami. Despite all the power he had, his brother had always overshadowed him in every aspect. That was the main reason why the youngest Uchiha son had moved into the Black Virtue.

"Can we stop with all the fucking greetings?" moaned the foul-mouthed Jashinist. Sakura rolled her emerald eyes at Hidan but the small smile on her lips contradicted her annoyance. The two walked forwards together until they reached the table.

"Always the foul mouth Hidan," commented the rosette, laughing when the sadist pouted. "So, what's up?" Sasuke rolled his eyes as the girl's ease at such as serious place. Oh well, wasn't that why he tolerated her in the first place?

Pein stood up from his seat and said, "We have received a transfer convict this morning. He has been sentenced for homicide. We have evidence that it was him due to DNA but—"

"Let me guess, you don't know how he did it," interrupted Sakura while chomping on a pocky stick Sasuke had given her. The leader looked at her with half-hearted irritation but continued nonetheless.

"Correct. He will still go to jail even if we don't find out how he did it but the sentence won't be as harsh and there will be a chance that he will be released prematurely," explained the leader of the Akatsuki. Sakura nodded while shoving another pocky stick into her mouth.

"So you need Chastity's help to solve the mystery?" Sasuke said while trying to stop Sakura from shoving a chocolate stick into his mouth. All the members wearing the black cloak with red clouds watched in amusement. It was amazing how well the Children of Chaos got on. To any outsider, it would seem that the girl was all over the male but the Akatsuki weren't just anybody. Pein nodded, answering Sasuke's question but Sakura cheekily smiled.

"If I figure this out, you going to have to give me a thousand boxes of pocky, you know that right?" said Sakura while letting go of Sasuke's hand to sit on the table. She squeezed in between the two artists while Sasuke leaned against the wall. Pein picked up a remote control and pointed it to the television hanging from the corner of the room. It could access all the security cameras but could also show anything else that was wished to be shown. Various pictures appeared on the screen; a wooden shed-like building on the roof of a house. It must have been made some time ago because Sakura could spy a crack at the bottom of the door. Probably corroded due to mould. Another picture was the interior of the wooden building and storage boxes but something was different. There was a white outline of a body on the floor. Sakura wrinkled her brows in disgust when she saw rats in the picture. Something silver caught her eye and emerald eyes saw a drain covered by the black rats. The third picture was a ransacked kitchen, the cupboards and fridge had been completely messed up. Food everywhere, utensils everywhere, dishes everywhere, it was a complete mess. Sakura cringed, if Sasuke was a slob like that, she would have killed him ages ago.

"It was a locked room murder. The key was found within the room and the culprit made it look like victim locked himself inside the room then poisoned himself." All eyes were on the screen while taking in Pein's voice as he explained the situation. "The key was found on top of the drain, there were no signs of a struggle in the room. The police initially believed the situation to be a burglary that went wrong but it was found that the owner of the house was killed by his own son. We just need to know how the crime was committed." Sakura nodded her head in approval, this man was good—but not good enough. Sakura turned around so her back was leaning on the table as she grinned at the younger Uchiha. Her back couldn't be seen but he could feel her mark of Chastity burn because he felt his snake tattoo react. The rosette's eyes were closed, she was thinking. The angel wings glowed brighter than ever and she saw images underneath her eyelids. String. Key. Flour. Butter. Milk. Rats feasting. Poison. It all clicked together and the girl smirked as she opened her glinting emerald eyes.

"Got it," was the first thing she said after her mark of Chastity died down. "The culprit poisoned his old man then ransacked the kitchen not only to make it look like a burglary but to hide the key to the locked room." Sasuke smirked, Chastity was not only the virtue of purity but also the mark of wisdom. It was the first mark that Sasuke reacted to when he met Sakura when they were children. After finishing another stick of pocky, Sakura continued. "He then proceeded to use the flour, milk and butter from the kitchen to make a dough ball. After poisoning the father, he attached the key to fishing wire to pull the key from the gap after locking the door. After that, he put the key into the dough ball and rolled it through the gap. The floor is slightly slanted so when it rains, all the water will pass through the drain. The culprit took advantage of that knowing the dough ball would roll furthest away from the door and the rats eventually ate the dough leaving just the key. That's how he got himself an alibi."

Everyone stared in awe of the girl who was calmly finishing her third box of pocky. Sasuke pushed himself off the wall and walked over to the girl. He said no words of praise but merely took the box of confection away from her, holding it high over his head when she tried to jump for it. "You'll be sick," he said after Sakura pleaded with him to give it back. The couple showed no worry for what would happen to the culprit because they knew he was in good hands already. Their bickering was interrupted by Pein who stood up from his chair. "Thank you for your cooperation Children of Chaos, we will give you the appropriate payment for your help." Sakura tched at the formal attitude of the leader. She had known the Akatsuki since she was a child through Sasuke so she didn't like the serious attitude of someone she knew so well.

She watched as Tobi bounded over to a wall with ten buttons on it, two rows of five. He pressed the last button and spoke into the speaker next to it. "Bring him in," he said before pressing the button again, disconnecting the line. The couple turned around as the door opened and two guards brought in a man. He was a dirty looking man, unclean, yellow teeth and rat-like eyes. His hands were cuffed in front of him and he was wearing the standard prisoner uniform of Astaroth. A black jumpsuit with a zipper down the side. His number was stitched onto his uniform where his chest pocket was. He instantly noticed Sakura due to her pink hair and glared at her. She was shocked but not frightened by his actions, more like befuddled.

"Prisoner 325, you are under arrest. You will be sentenced to the eighth level for prolonged homicide and trickery. Your sentence is life with no chance of parole." Sakura stared in awe as the leader of the Akatsuki served out the punishment. To Sakura, he looked pretty damn awesome. The prisoner started shaking, Sakura couldn't tell if it was fear or anger.

He turned his dirty eyes to Sakura, "This is your fault isn't it?" Sakura stared, obviously insulted.

"My fault? I'm not the one knocking off family members!" retaliated Sakura. She snorted and turned back around to say something when she was cut off. She was pulled down when hands caught her around her stomach and she shoved onto the table. She gasped when she felt one of her knives being taken out of its sheath. The culprit had managed to surprise Sakura and take one of her blades and was going to bring it down on her. The maniacal look in his eyes disappeared when his attack was blocked. At the last moment, the rosette had brought her leg up and used the titanium band she kept her knife in to block the attack. But this only enraged the prisoner as he brought her diamond blade up again. He abruptly stopped when he felt cold metal by his neck. Sasuke had his blade by his neck. It wasn't just any sword, it was a sword that controlled all darkness.

"If you don't stop," started Sasuke with a deadly voice, "I _will_ end your life prematurely." His eyes were now red and three black commas span around his black pupils. Sakura, who was still on the table turned her head to the right to see the Uchiha's elder brother staring menacingly at the prisoner. Even though his eyes were usually red, there was something different about Itachi. If you stared hard enough into his eyes, you could see black flames inside them.

The man was flung off Sakura and almost into the wall. "Tobi, call the guards in," ordered Pein. The cheerful skipped over to the buttons again and was about to press the tenth button when he was shoved out of the way. The prisoner—in a desperate attempt to escape—realized the nine previous buttons were capable of opening the nine levels. Sakura grabbed the knife he had used to attack her and flung it at the man. The culprit saw it through his peripheral vision and due to his panic, he slipped. But that did not stop him from reaching his goal, just before he fell he managed to hit the sixth button. Kisame, who was closest to the man grabbed him and wrestled him to the ground.

Kisame gritted her teeth in annoyance as the man kept struggling, "You little shi—" He was blatantly interrupted when shouting from the television erupted. All eyes turned onto the screen and what they saw wasn't really surprising. The doors to the cells on the sixth level had opened and they were rioting. Luckily, the main door to the each level could only be opened through verified tattoos. All the prisoners were banging on both doors at either end, wanting to be released. None of the occupants in the conference room were really scared, more like the expression of annoyance graced their faces.

"This is an annoyance," sighed Pein. "They won't be able to break down the diamond doors but it will be troublesome if they remained loose." He glanced at his subordinates before giving his orders, "Hidan and Dei—"

"We'll go."

Everybody turned to the couple standing by the doors of the room. Their bodies were facing the door but they had turned their upper-bodies to face the habitants of the room. Sakura had a pocky in her mouth yet the smirk could be seen on her face. However, her smug grin was no match for Sasuke's trademark smirk. He had his sword—still in its sheath—swung over his shoulder. Pein swiftly looked at Itachi and sighed as Itachi nodded. "You have my approval." Sakura waved in thanks for her mouth was busy playing with the chocolate covered stick. Sasuke flicked her forehead before pushing the doors open. Together, they walked down the hall with matching expressions on their faces. The House of the Red Dawn watched from the television as the couple walked down the hallway. They entered the elevator at the end of the hall and Sasuke jabbed the button with the number 'six' on it with his sword. Sakura leaned against the wall as she watched the numbers on the screen grow higher and higher. Despite the numbers growing, they were going deeper into the ground. The doors made a sound as they opened and both moved from their places on the wall to face the opening doors.

In the conference room, the members of the Akatsuki made themselves comfortable. Only Itachi showed signs of worry. Hidan turned to the prisoner and smirked at him. Prisoner 325 felt the sadist's gaze on it and looked through his peripheral vision. The Jashinist caught his gaze and smirked. "Watch and learn you fucker."

The two walked out of the doors and steadily walked down the hall. Sakura finished the last of the pocky before throwing the empty packet into the lift. She could already hear Pein's sigh at her littering the place. Sasuke placed the other side of his sword on his other shoulder and rested his arms on it. He looked at her once before saying, "Let's do this, Crazy Girl."

Sakura looked back at him and promptly smacked her clenched fist into her left palm, "Roger that." Without hesitation, Sasuke walked down a different path that would lead to the other door on the opposite side. Sakura walked to the door after Sasuke disappeared and felt her mark react to the scanning. The glow died down and she knew she was verified to enter. She placed her hand on the handle and swiftly slammed the door open.

Shouts of surprise erupted from level six but Sakura didn't stop. She shot her leg out and kicked a man in the stomach. His eyes widened in pain and shock but they closed as he fell unconscious. He fell to the ground and didn't move after that. One of the smarter prisoners swung an arm at the woman but she caught it, swung him around and slammed her foot into his head from under her arm. He too fell down and didn't move. She continued knocking the prisoners out and laughed when she heard the commotion on the other side. Apparently Sasuke had made it to the other door. Unlike Sakura, he preferred keeping his hands clean. The Uchiha had no problem with using his sword to knock them out. His sword wasn't even out of its sheath as he used it against the convicts.

The opposing side stumbled slightly when the words 'venia' glow on the rosette's left inner-wrist and realized she was special and no ordinary guard. What they didn't know was that it was only reacting to Sasuke's 'Ira' tattoo, the mark of Wrath. The two were nearing each other as the quickly took out their opponents. Sasuke shook his head as his partner started laughing with glee. She was no crazy sadist but enjoyed a good workout. They were back to back as they took out the remaining prisoners. Sensing someone behind her, Sakura brought her arm around to hit the person. She felt no surprise when it was caught for Sasuke was the only other standing occupant in the hall. He raised an eyebrow at her, "You knew it was me."

She pouted in defence, "I have no idea what you're talking about, Sasuke-baby." He hned at her childish nickname for her and let her hand go. They started walking back the way Sakura came, the rosette jumping over the unconscious prisoners while Sasuke merely stepped on them. They didn't react to multiple guards rushing in and continued walking back to the conference room.

The shock on Prisoner 325's face was the first thing the couple saw when they re-entered the room. He had never seen such skilled people before. And the way they synchronized with each other was astounding. "No fair," pouted Deidara. "We didn't get any action at all." Hidan nodded his head, agreeing with the blond.

"Sorrrrrrry," sang Sakura with no guilt on her face whatsoever. They snorted at her fake condolences. However they perked up when Sakura offered to spar with them one day soon. "Anyway, it wasn't worth it. It was far too easy to take them down," said Sakura while accepting another packet of pocky from Sasuke. "Where do you keep those?" she asked him when he seemed to produce them from nowhere. He didn't reply and the question was lost as she tried to stop him from taking one of her pocky sticks. "I didn't even need to bring out my blades," complained Sakura.

The younger Uchiha nodded, "I agree with the Crazy Girl on this one."

The rosette turned on him, "I'm not crazy!"

Sasuke merely smirked and called her crazy again. She was about to wring his neck when two guards enter the room. "All the prisoners on level six have been secured. We have also checked all the other levels, no signs of escape," reported one of the guards.

Pein nodded, "Bring Prisoner 325 to level six." The two guards saluted and walked over to the man. He was still handcuffed but was tied to the wall with another pair of handcuffs. One of the guards went to release him from the pipe he was chained to while the other received more orders from the leader. Unfortunately the guard who went to release the prisoner was a rookie and he didn't keep a tight grip on him. In a flash, he escaped from the guard's loose grip and the rosette happened to be his closest target. This time instead of metal, Sakura felt warm flesh around her neck. The man was actually chocking her with his bare hands this time. She felt her airway blocking and due to his element of surprise, she didn't have time to react. Quickly evaluating the situation, she reached down to grab a knife to hit him with the titanium handles but that effort was unneeded.

The man fell to the ground, screaming in pain. He was clutching his head and struggling like an invisible force was torturing him. Sakura knew who the caster was and her eyes zeroed in on the youngest Uchiha. His eyes were red but this was no normal Sharingan. Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan was different because it was the only one to have a red design and a black background. His bloodline limit look the appearance of three intersecting ellipses. The Mangekyo Sharingan was needed to cast Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, Izanami and Izanagi while the original Sharingan could only read and copy movements and also cast simple illusions.

Sakura gasped for her breath and used the table for support. That's when she saw that all the members of the House of the Red Dawn were prepared to strike.

Itachi had his Mangekyo Sharingan activated; like Sasuke, he no longer had the normal Sharingan in his eyes. The advanced Sharingan was unique for each user. The elder Uchiha brother's was a black design of a three bladed shuriken with a red background.

Pein had a metal spike he kept hidden in his sleeves in his hand. His other hand was ready to send the man through the wall.

Konan was still seated but the few pieces of paper laying on the table had transformed into paper shuriken and ready to slice the prisoner into shreds.

Zetsu was salivating, wanting to eat the man more than anything. But before that, he would torture him until he begged for mercy, then he would torture him again before finally eat him. He would consume his hands and legs first so the man could suffer more.

Hidan was ready with his triple-bladed scythe. He only needed a bit of the man's blood to perform his ritual. Like Zetsu, he would make the man go through agonizing pain before he killed him.

Kakuzu had his treads ready, debating whether he should spear him and wait for his leader's orders.

Sasori had a puppet out before anyone else was ready. His hands were poised in a position that would cause the puppet to attack the man with a flick of his finger. The sword that his puppet held was dripped with poison that would cause excruciating pain and a slow death.

Like his partner, Deidara was ready in a flash. A exploding spider was already in his palms and it was very tempting to throw it at the man.

Even though it wasn't obvious, Tobi was ready to strike. If you looked at him very closely, you could see that the single hole in his mask was glowing red. His Mangekyo Sharingan had a black design with a red background. The design was complex; it looked like three hollow comet-like figures chasing each other. And a single line came out from each comet and extended until the edge of his iris. One of Madara's hand was at the base of his mask, ready to pull it off.

Itachi's partner had Samehada raised above his head, ready to bring it down on the prisoner. He had a menacing grin on his face; this man was not going to get away without punishment. Everyone was fond of the rosette and weren't happy with someone trying to kill her—for the second time.

"You are a magnet for trouble," said Sasuke, placing a hand on her head as she regained her breath. She was still panting, shocked that she had been caught off guard like that.

"Not... My... Fault..." gasped Sakura between breaths. After a minute, the Daughter of Chaos was revived and glared the prisoner down. He squirmed under the intensity of her gaze and realized that the people around the table were doing the same thing. What creeped him out the most was the man with the orange mask. He seemed to be staring straight through his soul.

"Prisoner 325, you will be sent down to the ninth level for your actions just now," ordered Pein with no emotion on his face. The man shook with fear, he started blubbering, pleading, begging but nothing could persuade the leader to change his mind.

* * *

"Visit again soon, Crazy Girl."

Deidara and Kisame whistled as the rosette flipped Hidan off for his farewell gesture. She waved as she walked through the gates and stopped when she outside. She turned around to see Sasuke right behind her. She grabbed him and he smiled a genuine smile at her. She knew what was happening when Itachi pulled his younger brother aside after Prisoner 325 was being escorted to level nine.

"You okay?" He pressed his lips against her forehead, ignoring the whistles of the more wild members of the Akatsuki. With one final wave and a nod from Sasuke, the couple walked back towards the Black Virtue. "So how much?" Sasuke looked at her with amusement and pulled something out of his shirt pocket. She took the cheque and her brows rose at the large sum of money sent to them. She whistled and tucked it back into his pocket. Hand in hand, they walked down the street; bathing in the warmth the sunset over Astaroth gave off.

"_Sasuke, I'm sorry."_

"_For what?"_

"_I know how you feel about me and I should have done something about it."_

"_It's not your fault, Brother."_

"_It's my duty to protect you Sasuke."_

_Sasuke stared into his brother's eyes and saw the sincerity in them. He had always been overshadowed by Itachi but did not resent him. That was all in the past but Itachi still felt guilty. He knew his little brother was still envious of him. Just as Sasuke moved to leave, Itachi called out to him. _

"_Sasuke."_

"_Hn?"_

"_You know, there's one thing you have that I don't."_

_Itachi watched as his cute little brother raised his eyebrows in surprise and smiled. He still didn't realize it?_

"_What?"_

"_You have her."_

_The elder Uchiha brother watched as his brother's eyes widened then softened. He proceeded to walk away and Itachi sighed. _

"_Itachi."_

_Said man looked at his brother's retreating back. _

"_Hm?"_

"_I love you."_

_Itachi Uchiha smiled a rare smile. _

Sasuke looked down at the rosette and smiled. His brother was right, he did and always would have her.

* * *

**I FINISHED! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? **

**It's Chinese New Year and we have a 9-10 day holiday. It's so refreshing but I keep eating and don't do any exercises. I'm so lazy and can't be bothered to write. It's currently 11:30PM and I've just finished writing this chapter. **

**Hope you live it and don't forget to review!**

**Ciao!**


	3. Hell Has No Fury

**So, I know it's been a long time buuuuuuut I have a excellent excuse; I was too lazy—and I didn't have a laptop for the past week. I went to England to visit my grandparents. It was so cold and there was snow during spring! England's weird... I am so jet-lagged, woke up at 2PM. Then I have school on Monday. Nooooooooooo! Anyway, hope I haven't gone rusty and hope you enjoy this chapter. Remember, read and review makes me happy! :D**

**Credits:  
Honor Code 101: For proofreading.**

**Disclaimer:  
I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

City of Black and White: Chapter 2: Hell Has No Fury

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Don't argue with me, Sakura."

"I'll argue with you."

"It's futile since we both know I'm right."

"No."

"Yes."

"NO!"

"Yes."

"What are you two arguing about now?"

The couple sitting at the bar of the Black Virtue Inn turned their heads to see Kakashi behind them looking very much amused. Since Sakura was incapable of answering for she was too busy glaring at Sasuke, the raven-haired man answered for her. "Sakura disagrees with the fact that I think she has no artistic talent." Kakashi chuckled at the man's blunt statement. Meanwhile, Sakura huffed in annoyance and turned her head away from the Uchiha.

"And why do you believe that Sakura has no talent with the arts?" asked Kakashi, wondering if the fuming rosette was going to jump over the table and wring the raven-haired's neck. If that was so, he wanted no part in it. Ironically, Sasuke was at ease and even wore his trademark smirk as he answered. "You should have seen her when we were younger, Kakashi. Sakura here, has the artistic talent of a colorblind hedgehog stuffed in a bag." Sakura gaped, her green eyes wide with surprise, her open mouth slightly twitching as she regained her thoughts.

"A colorblind hedgehog! Why you! I ought to—"

Sakura was cutoff by Kakashi before things could get out of hand. "Now, now. Sasuke doesn't mean it in a bad way. Not all of us are good with the creative side of our brain. Naturally, some of us are better at maths and sciences." Sasuke cut the barman off, insulting the female again.

"That's might be true Kakashi." Said man cringed for he knew the Uchiha was going to push her buttons again. "But Sakura doesn't have much luck when it comes to anything intellectual." Sasuke watched the rosette carefully as he said this, waiting for her reaction. He was rewarded soon enough. A sweat drop ran down Kakashi's head when the girl pulled out both of her blades and bared them at her companion. He discreetly moved out of Sakura's line of sight, ready to use the bar as a trench if needed. He had seen them fight before many times and over time, they learnt not to wreck anything in his inn, just each other. Only once did he see them properly go against each other, and that was also the last time they did something like that. Kakashi's eyes softened as he relived the memory in his head, it was a terrifying moment. None of the two were smiling that time, blades and swords clashing against each other. It had taken the Akatsuki with the help of Naruto to separate them. The barman quickly disregarded the bad memories and focused on the fight at present.

Sakura was crouching on the bar, Sasuke a meter away from her. His hand was on the hilt of his sword, ready to pull it out at the right time. He had the blade forged from the seven deadly sins. Once strike would cause the destruction of a whole town. He could wield black matter from Purgatory with it. It could control shadows but its most unique technique was that it did not slice. When struck with the sword, it ate the target from the inside and eventually, the victim would be taken into Hell. The duration depended on the user and Sasuke enjoyed making his opponents suffer. The House of Bloodlines protected scrolls that called the blade 'The First Sword'. Legend said that it was the primordial sword to be made in Purgatory. Only those who wielded the seven sins could touch the First Sword without being burned by Hell's flames. The only other wielder theoretically would be Sakura.

However, the rosette was content with her custom made diamond blades. One of her fists clenched around the grip and her thumb rested on the top of the hilt for stability and that extra push. In her right hand, she spun the twin blade without concern. She was smiling pleasantly, the exact opposite of the stoic man in front of her. She was resting on her toes, ready to move quickly. Despite her position, Sakura was not fast enough to move before Sasuke appeared right in front of her. Sakura bent backwards to dodge the sword and raised her eyebrows as she heard the sword hitting the wall next to her. The smirking Uchiha made no sign to move his arm so her green eyes followed his sword to where it was stuck in the wall. The First Sword had pierced a piece of paper which happened to be where the job board was.

Sakura sighed and placed her hand on the sword to push it away from her. She slowly rose from her position to read the information on the paper. "Deliver a classified scroll to a helicopter just a couple of miles out of Astaroth. Hmmm... The pay's not bad, I guess," mused Sakura who had ripped the paper off the board. "When do we leave?"

"Tonight," replied Sasuke and swiftly pulled his sword out of the board. Her brows furrowed in annoyance but she didn't say anything. She merely hopped off the counter and drowned her glass of water before heading upstairs but not before thanking the silver-haired barman. Sasuke stared as she left, his graceful smirk never leaving his face.

"She's got you hard doesn't she?" Sasuke glanced at the elder man next to him. Like Sakura, he didn't say anything but Kakashi swore his smug smile widened just by a bit. The former mark-user passed the younger man something in a sealed envelope before ruffling the Uchiha's hair which resulted in the black-haired man scowling. Sasuke slapped the obtrusive hand away as Kakashi chuckled before walking off back to his private office. "I'll have the cheque by the time you get back," said the man before completely disappearing. Sasuke too finished his glass of beverage before slamming it back down on the counter and wiping his lips on the back of his hand. He gracefully made his way up the stairs but not without slipping the job description and envelope in his back pocket first.

When Sasuke opened the door to the room, the first thing he saw was Sakura face-down on the bed. Her legs were flailing about and Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her actions. "What are you doing, Sakura?" The girl immediately rose when her name was called.

"I'm trying to contact my inner-artist," she replied with a serious look on her face. Sasuke's eyebrow rose even more.

"By suffocating yourself on our pillow?" said Sasuke with a mocking tone in his voice. The rosette glared at him before replying.

"I wasn't suffocating myself!" Sasuke gave her a skeptical look before entering the bathroom. He muttered something under his breath which Sakura's sharp eyes caught on to and they widened at his choice of words. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S NO INNER ARIST THERE? JUST BECAUSE I DON'T DRAW DOESN'T MEAN I CAN'T!" Sasuke paid no heed to her raging and shut the door behind him and it was lucky he did because seconds later, a diamond blade was stuck in the door. Sakura fumed and glared at the door a bit more before throwing herself back into the pillows and internally moping. Sakura rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, a smiling gracing her face the whole time. She reached her arm out and picked up her weapons clad in their sheathes. The rosette raised one leg at a time to strap them on, ignoring the fact that they would be on by now if she was in a sitting position.

She had just finished putting the second one on when Sasuke's exited the bathroom, a towel draped over his neck to catch the drips off his wet hair. As he walked past her to reach the wardrobe, he threw something at the rosette. It landed on her lap and she picked it up. It was the white envelope. "What's this?"

"The scroll we need to deliver is important enough that we require a password to exchange with the collectors," explained the Uchiha rummaging through his shirt collection. He ultimately put on a black button-up shirt that matched his black jeans that were just a little _too _tight on him. Distracting herself, Sakura opened the envelope without ripping the paper. She took out a slip of paper and smiled when she read the contents. She turned it around in her fingers to show Sasuke and he nodded as a confirmation. Understanding his message, the girl opened the draw on the bedside table next to her and took out a black lighter. She pushed down the button and briefly held the paper over the small flame. She watched with fascination as the orange color ate away at the paper, turning the remains into ash. She made a noise of desperation when Sasuke ripped the paper away from her and crushed it in his hands. "Any longer and you would have burnt yourself," he stoically answered when she questioned him with a pout on her face. The two were so caught up with each other that none of them realized a unfamiliar face peering from the window, smirking when he saw the contents on the paper before the rosette burnt it.

The man jumped down from the building into a deserted ally. Pulling a device out of his back pocket, he pressed a button and softly spoke into it. "Yeah... I've got the password, it'll be like taking candy from a child."

* * *

"Where to this time, Miss. Haruno?"

Green and black orbs which had just exited the barrier of Astaroth turned around. Sakura grinned at the familiar captain before her. He was the gentlemen who had taken them to Japan during the assassination mission not so long ago. "Just a couple of miles outside Astaroth," replied Sakura, fanning herself due to the heat. The captain nodded and motioned for the couple to board his magnificent boat. Sakura hopped on first and waited for Sasuke as he lightly stepped on. He smirked at her frowning, knowing that she was pouting because of his longer legs.

Sasuke and Sakura used the same cabin as last time and the rosette immediately jumped on the couch and occupied the full-length. She stuck her tongue out at the Uchiha who rolled his eyes. He settled with the wooden chair next to a desk made out of the same material. The boat started to vibrate which signaled the two that they were leaving the dock.

Ten or so minutes had past and Sasuke's eyes were closed but not once did Sakura believe his guard was down. Sakura sighed and took out one of her weapons and started twirling then in her hand. She looked around the room, trying to find a suitable target. In the end, she settled with her male companion. With exact precision, she threw it at the raven-haired male. The blade headed straight for his temple but at the last moment, a hand shot out and caught it by the hilt. Onyx eyes opened and Sasuke stared at the offending weapon with amusement. "Couldn't you find a better target?" he asked the rosette who had a nervous grin of her face.

"Nope, only you Sasuke-baby," replied her rosette and briefly stuck her tongue out. Said baby sighed and chucked the knife back in the direction it came from. Like Sasuke, the rosette caught it with ease and she continued swirling it around her fingers. "I really need to bring a book next time or something," muttered Sakura mostly to herself. There was no reply so Sakura looked at her companion again. His eyes were closed once more but Sakura wagered that he was just ignoring her. Sakura smiled fondly at the face and she too turned to face the couch and closed her eyes. Soon enough, the soft material lulled her into slumber.

Sakura grumbled when she felt something shaking her. Her eyes stayed closed as she groaned a sleep, "What?" She groaned even louder when she recognized her partner's voice telling her that they had arrived. Counting to three, the rosette threw her legs off the couch—hoping to hit a certain raven-haired man on the way. Unfortunately for her, she was unsuccessful and staggered as she got up. Sasuke kept a firm grip around her bicep as he led her out of the room. Both bade their thanks to the captain as they passed the control room.

"We can't stay but we'll we back at sunset," he warned them, tipping his hat as they left the boat. Sakura was still half-asleep when she stepped on the dock. However, the smell of salt roused her senses back to life. She stretched and smiled in satisfaction when she heard something crack in her back. The rosette turned to look at her partner but found his facing the other direction. Sakura too turned around to be faced with a small town. They were on an island but a couple of decades ago, some people took refuge on the island. Now, it was a small but bustling place. Unlike Astaroth, this island had skyscrapers but they weren't nearly as big as the ones in major cities such as Japan or Hong Kong.

A sound distracted the rosette and she looked up towards the sky where the source was. A black helicopter was soaring through the sky and was getting closer to the small island. "I believe our contractors are here," said Sasuke with a smirk on his face. A copy graced Sakura's face and the two made their way into the town. "No security, anybody could enter. How pathetic," noted the Uchiha who stared at the town with disgust.

Sasuke lightly slapped him on the chest, "Don't be so rude, Sasuke." He ignored her and continued to follow the helicopter's path. It landed on top of an abandoned looking building which hid it from plain sight. Sakura looked at the people around her who didn't look disgruntled by the chopper. Either they were use to their home being a trading station or they were extremely dim. Sakura who was following Sasuke stopped outside the building. There was no door so entering was no problem. It was dark and the walls were crumbling but that did not deter the two fearsome warriors. They made their way up the stairs which got crumblier as they got higher.

"Five minutes. We've been walking for FIVE MINUTES," wailed Sakura who was grasping onto Sasuke's shirt. "Pull me," pleaded the rosette and he sighed at her actions. He grabbed her arm to pull her with him. Another couple of flight of stairs and they saw a door with a hole in it, presumably where a small window had been years ago. Light was shining through so it definitely had to be the roof door. The couple gave each other a look and nodded before pushing the door open.

As expected, the black helicopter was there with two men waiting outside it. They were clad in black suits and wore sunglasses that hid their eyes. No words or signs of greeting were made as the Children of Chaos came forwards. "Black," was the single word that came out of Sasuke's mouth as they reached the sunglasses men. It was silent for a while as they waited for the reply to the password in the envelope they had received.

"White."

Sakura glanced at Sasuke before nodding. The Uchiha moved forwards and pulled out a rolled up scroll from his pocket. It was slightly compressed due to his skinny jeans. Sasuke held it out to one of the men and as he reached out to grab it, his hand was stopped mid-way. Sasuke had used his other hand to stop him from reaching and the grip he had the man in was not light. "What do you think you are doing?" shouted the man's partner, reaching into his pocket to pull out a flip-out knife.

Sasuke smirked his trademark smirk before answering, "You think we didn't see you outside our window? Well we did and so we arranged a new password just minutes afterwards. Your boss must be really stupid, no?" Both men gritted their teeth as they heard Sasuke's mocking words.

Sakura who was smirking as well said, "By the way, our House of Leaders send you a message. I believe they said, 'Tell your boss that he's a fucking idiot—that's if you get back alive.'" And with that said, Sasuke swiftly snapped the man's wrist in a direction that a wrist shouldn't be able to bend in. The man screamed in agony, his bone protruding out of his skin. The man next to him reached into his pocket again and brought out a gun. He pointed it towards Sasuke's head and was about to pull the trigger when it was knocked out of his hand. Sakura who had decided to join the fray had executed a powerful roundhouse kick to the man's wrist. Once again did a snapping sound fill the air as the man's wrist was cracked due to the power of the kick. When the rosette turned around after her kick, she had both blades in her hands, holding them in the style of before.

Sasuke let go of the man in his grip and both men backed away. They snarled when Sasuke pocketed away the classified scroll. Currently, it was two against two and the side of Astaroth had the advantage. The men backed away a little more when a dark shadow spurted from Sasuke's arm and when the darkness faded away, a sword was present in his hand. It was still sheathed; the design on it being very intricate. It had silver lines running down it; the silver was said to be a contribution from the virtues, the only thing keeping the sword from destroying everything. Sasuke who held the sword with his right hand used his thumb to push the sword out and caught the falling sheath with his other hand. None of the two let the men have any time to counteract them. Faster than a viper, they both moved forwards and soon enough, a diamond blade was plunged into a man's neck the same time the First Sword pierced a beating heart.

When pulling her blade out, Sakura felt something burning on her left inner-wrist. She looked down as her victim fell down. Her tattoo of Forgiveness; 'Venia' was stirring up a fire in her body. There was no way in Hell she was feeling any forgiveness for the men but it was reacting to its counterpart; Wrath. And Wrath happened to be Sasuke's mark, the word 'Ira' on his right inner-wrist. She stared at her partner whose eyes had turned red due to his bloodline limit. The three black commas span around his onyx pupils. Sasuke stared back at her and smirked. She did the same and waved at him with a bloody knife in hand.

Sakura opened her mouth to say something to the Uchiha but a sound stopped her. It was the same sound as before, the sound of a helicopter. Sakura looked up along with Sasuke to see another helicopter approaching them. The rosette looked around the roof, "There's not enough room for another helicopter to land..." Her worries were answered when a rope was dropped from the flying contraption and a man slid down it. When he reached the bottom, he took no notice of the two dead bodies. He too was wearing a suit and shades, just like the impostors. He approached the two who were covered in blood. Sasuke sighed as he muttered the new password, "Sins."

Sakura swore she saw a grin on the man's face as he replied with, "Virtues." Sakura laughed and clapped her hands together. She pulled out the scroll from Sasuke's pocket and tossed in to the man. He didn't say anything in reply but gave a two finger salute and returned back to the rope. He wrapped it a couple of times around his hand and arm before pulling on it. That seems to be the cue because the helicopter whirled to life again and started hovering in the air. Minutes later, they were going back in the direction they came from; the sea.

Sakura stared at the disappearing contraption, it was flying into the sunset. "We should get back now, the boat will be here," instructed Sasuke and he started walking back towards the door. Sakura pouted and gave one last look at the bodies before following Sasuke back into the building. It was seriously dark in their now but Sakura bounded down the stairs like it was nothing. Sakura's suspicions about the townspeople was confirmed when they didn't react to them being covered in blood and organs. It was a quick walk back to the dock and just like Sasuke had said, the boat was there.

The rosette gave the captain a wave and a smile before bounding off to their usual cabin. This time, Sasuke commandeered the couch before Sakura could get there. Sakura gaped at the man, "Y-You evil boy." Sakura—instead of taking the wooden chair—sat herself on Sasuke's lap. He patted her soft hair and the rosette felt her mark of Humility react to the peacock tattoo on Sasuke's back. She smiled as she knew her partner was proud of her. She leaned into his chest and closed her eyes. She snuggled up close to him and fell asleep. He gave her a genuine smile, rested his head against hers and finally closed his eyes.

It was truly dark when they arrived back at Astaroth. Sasuke walked hand-in-hand with Sakura through the barrier surrounding the city. They made their way to the center of Astaroth where Kakashi's inn was. The silver-haired barman showed no surprise when they walked in covered in red. He gave them a secretive smile and passed them another sealed envelope, "Your payment."

He sighed and watched his two former students walk up the stairs to their room. He pretended not to notice Sasuke's snake tattoo and Sakura's mark of Chastity glowing. He smiled and started to prepared himself for a long night, "Kids these days."

* * *

**I'm done. Sorry for the long wait for my exams are coming up and I needed to get this off my chest before that. I don't think I'll pass my maths and my reports just came out. Science grades were terrible! And my Mandarin went down by one! :( **

**Hope you continue reading and always remember; read and review.**

**Ciao!**


	4. There's Never Enough

**Hello again!**

**I am so addicted to the series 'It Started with a Kiss'. It's the Taiwanese series of 'Itazura no Kiss'. It's so funny! However, the female lead is so stupid sometimes. I have my final two exams on Monday (Mandarin and Maths). Help me! I'm going to die during maths. I just know it. **

**And I'm suppose to be studying but I'm writing, I need to sort out my priorities... =.=lll Ay ya... **

**Have you guys read the latest Naruto chapter? Sasuke's now the anti-hero and not the bad guy. All the Hokages are back and so is Orochimaru. Orochimaru as a good (kind of) guy is really weird. And in 'Road to Ninja', that moment between Sasuke and Sakura had been giggling—but so did the moment between Itachi and Sakura. :D That's enough of my rambling... On with the story!**

**So I hope you enjoy this chapter! **

**Credits:  
Nonumaru: For proofreading.**

**Disclaimer:  
I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

City of Black and White: Chapter 3: There's Never Enough

"SAKURA! SASUKE-BASTARD!"

Everybody stared at the yellow blob running towards a couple that consisted of a pink-haired female and onyx-orbed male. The male raised his eyebrow while the rosette just grinned. When the boy—man in physical terms—with cerulean eyes reached the couple, he immediately hugged the rosette.

"Naru-Naru!" The gleeful woman hugged the blond with the same amount of happiness as Naruto. "What's up?" The Kyuubi container released the woman before her companion could hit him for sexual harassment. There was no way the nine-tailed fox vessel missed the twitching of his best friend's eye. He had known Sakura and Sasuke since they were children, he could read them better than anybody else. Naruto then turned to the Uchiha and smirked at him, his way of greeting the silent man.

"Are you guys going to the festival?" Sakura grinned and nodded her head. Everybody knew about the upcoming celebration for the one-thousandth year since Astaroth was built. Since the beginning, nothing had penetrated the barrier that surrounded the whole city. Every century, the Houses held a celebration for that fact. In retrospect, this would be the tenth festival.

"We still need to buy costumes," said Sakura who glanced at Sasuke. The Uchiha rolled his eyes and gave a small nod. "So we'll see you there tonight?"

Naruto grinned, "Yeah, I'm attending with Hinata!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Neji's cousin?" Sakura almost burst out laughing. It amused her to see her Naru-Naru incur the wrath of the Hyuga prodigy. She was still laughing by the time Naruto waved goodbye and ran back to the House of Demons. Sakura shook her head as she watched the blond finally disappeared from sight. Oh how she wished they were children again, when they were Team Seven with Kakashi as their mentor.

Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see an arm draped around her shoulder that belonged to her man. He started guiding her down the street towards a shop at the end of the road. Sakura knew exactly what they were going to do—buy clothes for the festival. Emerald eyes looked around to see all the storeowners decorating their premises for the party later on. They were setting up signboards for discounts, party lights and anything that was bright and sparkly. They entered a shop that sold clothes especially for the occasions like these.

The citizens watched the two walking. Everyone in Astaroth knew them. Who didn't know the Children of Chaos? The teenagers ignored the staring and entered the shop. The owner looked up as she heard the bell ring. She smiled when she recognized the two who had bought clothes from her shop before. "For the festival tonight?" Sakura nodded, looking at vast amount of party clothes. There were so many different styles; Sakura was torn between a pale pink kimono and a black strapless gown that reached her ankles. It was cut diagonally and its highest point went a good couple of centimeters above her knees.

Her pink brows furrowed, "Which one to pick?" She was so engrossed with her dilemma, she didn't notice Sasuke coming up from behind and plucking the black number out of her hands. She watched as he returned it to the rack and walked off to look for his costume. She raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. She looked back at the pink kimono with silver designs. It wasn't like an ordinary kimono; it went above her knees unlike the customary ones, which were long. It still had long sleeves that widened out. Wrapped around the kimono was a black sash that was meant to secure the dress. Sakura fiddled with the material and was surprised to only find two to three layers. Generally a kimono had many layers to it making it difficult to walk in. Hiding beneath the dress was a pair of black shorts. The rosette smiled, just incase something happened, she would be able to run without the worry of flashing someone.

Sakura placed the kimono on the counter and went over to the shoe and accessories section. This time, the dilemma was greater than the dress picking. It was more difficult picking just one pair of shoes. Sasuke who was at some other section of the shop caught sight of her and rolled his eyes knowing exactly what his partner was going through. In the end, she chose a pair of silver wedges to wear; not very traditional when wearing a kimono but this was Astaroth, weird things happened. For her accessories, she decided on a simple pair of dangly earrings that had butterflies on the end of them. The rosette was particularly fond of a butterfly hair ornament. It was a slim silver cylinder with a pink butterfly hanging off one end and a string of diamonds dangling off the other. She smiled at its delicacy and placed it on the kimono with her shoes. Deciding she had all she needed, she looked for her partner.

A dark colored yukata was placed over Sasuke's shoulders. Sakura stared appraisingly at the Uchiha's choice of clothes. The kimono was simple yet sophisticated; all of it was solid navy blue apart from the obi, which was black in color. Dangling from his fingers of his other hand, Sasuke held a pair of wooden sandals to wear on his feet. "This is all," announced Sasuke. The lady at the counter nodded and proceeded to check the items out.

"Do you require a bag?" she asked, looking at the many articles of clothing on the counter. Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other before the latter nodded. "Have a nice day," called the owner as the two exited her shop. She shook her head as he pink-haired woman turned to wave while her male companion did nothing but nod slightly in acknowledgement.

Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow when he saw the plump bag in Sakura's hands as they entered his inn. He didn't say anything, knowing it was for the festival. "Are you going to festival, Kakashi?"

The silver-haired man shook his head and smiled in amusement from the rosette pouted at his answer. "I can't, there's going to a lot of people here tonight so I have to make sure everything's running correctly." Of course, since Kakashi had been alive for the previous festival. After all, the former mark-user had been alive for quite a while now. Team seven's ex-teacher shooed his students up the stairs, using the excuse of having to prepare for the festival. Having no argument to his statement, the two made their way back to their room.

Sakura dumped the entire contents of the bag onto her bed and fumbled around for her specific pieces of clothing. Sasuke sighed at her actions before approaching her to pick of his required garments. He glared at her when she chucked his yukata and sandals at him. He took his clothing into the bathroom and shut the door behind him all the while ignoring Sakura's intensive glare burning his back. The rosette continued glaring at the door even as it closed. When it was obvious she was not going to get responses, she stuck her tongue out at the door.

Making sure she wasn't in the line of sight of the window, Sakura took her clothes off and first slipped on the shorts before putting on her kimono. Luckily it didn't have many layers or Sakura knew she would have been trying to tie her kimono for ages. After tightening the black obi, she slipped her shoes on. She walked around, ascertaining how comfortable they were. After deciding they were suitable, she sat herself on a chair before meeting her nemesis—her hair.

Long pink locks that usually were left alone were now forced into a loose but fitting bun. When Sakura was satisfied, she slipped in the silver ornament and smiled at how the sun reflected off the butterfly. The next step was her make up; a nude shade was applied to her lips first. Then, she brushed pale pink onto her cheeks before applying silver to her eyes. The heavy smoky eyes were contrasted with more of a light shimmer. Elegant fingers ran the white pencil on her waterline with absolute precision. And for the finishing touch, the rosette swiftly but steadily administered absolute darkness to her lashes with a heavily bristled mascara brush.

Smiling at her accomplishment that would make Ino proud, Sakura shoved all her cosmetics back into her bag specially bought for makeup products just as the bathroom door opened. Sasuke entered the room looking with a smug smirk and damn; Sakura couldn't deny that he looked extremely good in that suit. His hair was its usual spiky self and he saw no need to change it. Sasuke looked at her and eyed her clothing and she swore his smirk grew just a little bit wider. "Shall we go?" he asked offering his arm.

Sakura grinned and latched onto his arm, "Yes we shall." The two made their way downstairs and Kakashi caught sight of them.

"Looking good you two." Sakura stuck her tongue while Sasuke merely rolled his eyes. Sakura waved to the silver-haired barman as they exited the inn into the bustling streets of Astaroth. He shook his after the two, "Honestly, children these days."

There were people everywhere and no part of the street was left unattended to. Small shops were setup everywhere with games, food and various types of amusement. Sakura squealed in glee at all the lights shining from the stalls. Sasuke seemed to be interested but he seemed to find Sakura's hyperactive behavior sufficient to observe. Sakura wailed as Sasuke dragged her away from all the games. "But that unicorn had my name on it!"

"We planned to meet the others at the bar remember?" Sakura perked up immediately. Sasuke shook his he hadn't known this woman so well, he would have believed she had bipolar disorder.

Because Astaroth was a decently sized city, it didn't take long to reach the most famous bar there called Jinchuriki. The House of Demons founded the bar hence the name. It was the most popular bar out there. It had the biggest bar, the biggest dance floor and only those with invitation could enter. Those people included all the houses and the Children of Chaos. Kakashi had also been granted permission and sometimes spent nights there with his male friends when he wasn't busy working.

Sakura and Sasuke waited as the tattoos were scanned before the doors opened and they were greeted by music so loud it almost knocked Sakura over. Fortunately for her, Sasuke had wrapped an arm around her petite body. "Oh my god," she screamed over the music. "This is awesome!" The Uchiha stared at his girlfriend with a dubious look in his eyes. She was definitely insane.

"SAKURA! SASUKE-BASTARD!"

Sasuke suppressed the urge to smack his face when a blonde blob bounced over. "AWESOME PARTY NARUTO," complimented Sakura, raising her voice to get her point across the deafening sound.

"I KNOW RIGHT?!" screamed back Naruto. Sasuke twitched; there was no way he was dealing with two screaming idiots for the whole night. So he was about to march towards the speakers to rip out the wires when someone did it for him. All three turned to look at why the music was considerably lowered when Naruto gulped. There by the speakers stood Neji Hyuga glaring at the blonde with an impressionable amount of malice. "Hi Neji," greeted Naruto meekly. His expression changed when he saw the Hyuga's shy cousin appear. "Hinata! Hi!"

Hinata Hyuga blushed as she heard her crush's voice greet here. "H-H-Hello N-Naruto," she addressed, the red spreading even further up her face. Her cousin seemed to notice this because his glare increased tenfold. Naruto gulped and tried to avoid Neji while trying to get to Hinata.

Sasuke sighed and gave his best friend a big push that led him into falling onto the Hyuga heiress. Neji was literally fuming now, "Brat, you've got ten seconds." Without hesitation, Naruto ran but not without pulling the blushing Hinata with him.

"You'll never catch me or Hinata alive!"

Sakura watched amused as the blonde ran off into dance floor, smoothly avoiding his cousin in-law. She accepted the drink Sasuke offered her, "Aren't you the quick one," she mused taking a sip from her drink. She didn't know what it was but it was good, therefore she didn't care for its name. She gulped it down and was about to tell Sasuke to get her another one when a familiar voice shouted over the lowered noise.

"Sakura!"

Said woman turned to see her best female friend approach. She was Ino Yamanaka, of the House of Bloodlines. Her clan had the ability to enter the mind of others and control it to a certain degree. Right now, Ino was fairly advanced with her family's bloodline limit. Next to her was Shikamaru Nara who was Ino's boyfriend and teammate. He controlled the shadows and was a genius with the IQ of over two hundred. Finally there stood Chouji Akimichi. His clan was well known for their physical strength and ability to change the shape of their body parts, which was useful in battle.

"Hello Forehead." Sakura rolled her eyes at the nickname she had since she was a child. Before it was an insult, now it was just a harmless name. Anyway, she had an equally insulting one for her blonde friend.

"What's up Pig?" Ino gasped with mock fury, clutching her chest. But it quickly turned into a smile when she caught sight of the interlocked hands of Sakura and Sasuke.

"I see you two are still as strong as ever." Sakura smiled and brought up the hands to her cheeks. She didn't answer because the action was enough for Ino to see that those two were inseparable. "Neji and Kiba's team are here as well as the House of Leaders and the Akatsuki," informed the mind reader.

Sakura nodded her head, "Thanks, I needed to speak to Lady Tsunade anyway." She turned to Sasuke and released their hands but they still touched. "I'll be back soon okay. Go bother your brother or something." Sasuke snorted but nodded, he kissed her pink hair and walked off. Ino whistled at the sign of affection. "Shut up," muttered Sakura trying to rid the red on her cheeks. She ignored it and walked over to where the three leaders sat at the bar table.

She passed Hinata's team of boys, Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka. On the other side were the rest of Neji's team, the weapon mistress Tenten and Rock Lee who was famous for his hand-to-hand combat. She wearily waved back at the spandex wearing boy as he excitedly waved at her. She spotted all her friend's parents sitting next to the leaders. On a separate table was the Akatsuki who seemed to be playing cards, which involved money. She snorted when she saw that Kakuzu had the largest pile of notes.

"Lady Tsuande," she said as she approached the table surrounded by adults. The busty blond looked up from her conversation to see her favorite apprentice.

"Sakura, how have you been?" She gestured a drink to the girl but the rosette shook her head.

"Fine Lady Tsunade, and you?"

The leader snorted, "I've been teaching this idiot a lesson." She pointed over to her white-haired teammate Jiraiya. Sakura bowed her head respectfully to him and smiled when the man waved his hand at her. She then did the same to Orochimaru and he nodded in acknowledgement.

"Sakura dear," said Mikoto of the Uchiha clan. Sakura turned to say her respect to the matriarch but was stopped halfway. "No, no, no, you know I hate formalities. Just Mikoto is fine."

Sakura grinned, "Hello Mikoto." The mother of the Uchiha brothers smiled and hugged the girl. She then turned to bow at the clan leader Fugaku Uchiha. He, like Orochimaru, merely nodded.

"Where's Sasuke?" pondered Mikoto, frowning that her son would leave her favorite daughter all alone.

"He's with Itachi," answered Sakura looking over at the Akatsuki table to see the younger Uchiha conversing with his brother. Mikoto looked over too and smiled and the pleasant conversation her sons were having.

"If you excuse me," politely said Sakura and left the table but not before greeting Naruto's parents. Minato and Kushina returned the smile with much more enthusiasm than the Uchiha patriarch.

As she walked away, she and Sasuke engaged in eye contact and the rosette gestured towards the dance floor. All their friends were already on it so Sasuke relented when his brother pushed him towards it. Hidan and Deidara whistled as the youngest Uchiha reached the woman. "Shall we dance," she inquired with a familiar smirk on her face and held out her hand.

He returned her smirk and accepted her hand, "Yes we shall."

* * *

"Look at that rainbow Sasuke."

"There's no rainbow, that's just the lights."

"No, no, Sasuke. There is a rainbow; can't you see Mr. Unicorn?"

"Sakura, there is no unicorn."

"You're just blind."

"And you're plain drunk."

"Am not."

"Then why do you reek of alcohol."

"No I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"You're just being weird."

"Says the girl who talks about rainbows and unicorns."

"Rainbows and unicorns exist Sasuke, but only special people like me can see them."

"And what's your definition of special?"

"Hmmmm... I don't know..."

"..."

"What were we talking about again?"

A certain rosette was leaning heavily against Sasuke's shoulder and he half dragged, half walked her home. She was definitely wasted due to the large quantity of drinks she had consumed. It was well past midnight and the residents of Astaroth were still celebrating. In fact, some of their friends were still in Jinchuriki but Sasuke had been firm about getting Sakura home knowing she would be a demon if she woke up in a bar with an excruciating hangover.

"Heh heh." She was laughing, that was not a good sign.

"What?"

"Temperantia is glowing," the rosette giggled. Sasuke looked down to see her fingers playing with the waistline of his trousers pulling it down slightly. It was placed on his waist. His mark of Temperance was glowing, but it was not him who initiated it.

It was reacting to Sakura's mark of Gluttony. The spider web tattoo mark on her back was unseen but he knew it was glowing as brightly as his.

"That's because it's reacting to your gluttony, you stupid woman."

Sakura pouted, "I'm not stupid!" He didn't argue with her knowing it would get ugly if so. They were almost at the Black Virtue when life decided to smack Sasuke in the face.

Stumbling from a building, a man who was obviously more intoxicated than Sakura approached the rosette with a lecherous grin on his face. He seemed to not see Sasuke. "Hey baby, wanna have a good time?"

Sakura looked at his incredulously and raised a brow. "I've had a good time with Sasuke, why would I want to go with you?" Sasuke smirked at his girl, even drunk and she could still talk down idiots like this man. His onyx orbs narrowed when the man looked at him with pure disgust and tried again.

"Come on baby, I can give you a much better time than this wimp did." Had Sasuke been an emotional person, froth would be building up at his mouth. But he was stoic and showed no emotion. But that didn't include his tattoos. The man mistook Sakura's surprised expression for realization but in reality, she felt her mark of Kindness react to the 'Invidia' marked on his left arm. She almost laughed, Sasuke was jealous.

The Uchiha snapped when the man got tired and tried to grab the rosette. Before he could summon the First Sword, the man was on the ground out cold. Sakura had grabbed a knife and knocked him over the head with the hilt. She stared at the man with disgust and hate on her face. She flipped the knife over and was about to bring it down when a hand stopped her. "Stop Sakura, it would not be good to kill our own neighbors. He was drunk, we'll send him to my brother."

She turned to look at him with a raised brow, "I'm drunk but I'm not being arrested. I thought favoritism wasn't allowed."

He smirked, "You are coherent no matter how many stupid words come from you. This man would have raped you had he the chance."

The rosette snorted, "A chance he will _never _have. Not now and not ever." She may have been drunk but there was no way she could miss the smile gracing his lips. "Heh, you're smiling," she pointed out with an even bigger smile on her face. His smile turned into a smirk and he moved her arm over his shoulder.

"Come on you, the more sleep you get now, the milder your hangover will be."

"You know it doesn't work that way Sasuke."

"Even I can fantasize can't I?"

* * *

"Oh god, my head!"

"I told you not to drink too much."

"You really think I would listen?"

"No."

"So shut up."

"I'm not the one who keeps whining about her head being split open."

"I'm not whining."

"You were five seconds ago."

"If you have enough energy to taunt me Sasuke, go get me some aspirin."

"Nope, you deserve this."

"What?! Why?"

"Because I say so."

"That doesn't make any sense whatsoever."

"Just like you last night then."

"What did I say?"

"Interesting facts which I already knew but it was fun hearing it from your mouth."

"Sasuke Uchiha, you will tell me what I said last night."

"You repeated everything in your diary."

"I don't have a diary!"

"Well, you said what you would have in a diary."

"Oh god."

"Stop repeating yourself Sakura."

"Oh god."

"Sakura, just because we control the sins and virtues does not mean we have to become religious."

"Hey Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"Oh god."

* * *

**Yay! Next chapter done! **

**I know it's been a while but I was focused on my other story and now it's done, this chapter can be posted up. Hope you enjoy it!**

**Hope you enjoy Sakura's drunk talking. **

**Don't forget to review or a very drunk Sakura will come after you!**

**Ciao!**


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